Press Releases 2016

In April 2016, the international, interdisciplinary research project "HISENTS" started, in which eleven partners from business and science developed new innovative methods to evaluate the behavior of nanoparticles in the body in detail and to better predict and quantify the resulting risks for humans. The Fraunhofer IBMT is making a major contribution to this project by designing, fabricating and validating the microchip-based multi-organ platform.

Unlike drugs, active implants such as electroceuticals act locally, have fewer side effects and function directly through electrical signals, much like the body itself. At the Medica 2016 trade fair in Düsseldorf, Fraunhofer researchers will be presenting a new technology platform that can power active implants wirelessly via ultrasound (Hall 10, Booth G05). The experts are targeting widespread diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and Parkinson’s.

It is still unclear what the impact is on humans, animals and plants of synthetic nanomaterials released into the environment or used in products. It’s very difficult to detect these nanomaterials in the environment since the concentrations are so low and the particles so small. Now the partners in the NanoUmwelt project have developed a method that is capable of identifying even minute amounts of nanomaterials in environmental samples.

EBiSC, the European Bank for induced pluripotent Stem Cells announces the public launch of its on-line catalogue of induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) which are available to academic and commercial scientists for use in disease modelling and other forms of pre-clinical research. The Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT contributes by developing technologies for cell culture automation, safe manipulation of cells, rapid, cost-efficient and extremely consistent screening processes and its expertise in the field of cryorepository and biobank technology, e. g., innovative freezing methods and xeno-free media for the cryopreservation of therapeutically relevant cell systems. A mirror bank is established at the Fraunhofer IBMT in Sulzbach, Germany.